The Battle of Brunnbäck Ferry ( sv, Slaget vid Brunnbäcks färja) was the first major battle in the

Swedish War of Liberation The Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23; sv, Befrielsekriget, lit=The Liberation War), also known as Gustav Vasa's Rebellion and the Swedish War of Secession, was a rebellion and a civil war in which the nobleman Gustav Vasa deposed King Chri ...

, between rebels rallied by

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

that had marched down from occupied

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabita ...

and Danish troops from

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

. The battle took place by the village Brunnbäck, near the ferry over

Dalälven The Dal River ( sv, Dalälven, Elfdalian: ''Dalövę'') is a river in central Sweden that flows from the north of Dalarna and runs into the sea in northern Uppland; it is commonly considered to be the southern border of Norrland, however only th ...

. Governmental troops led by Henrik Slagheck, the brother of

Didrik Slagheck Didrik Slagheck (died 24 January 1522) was a Denmark, Danish archbishop, military commander during the Swedish War of Liberation, and often pointed out as an active participant in the Stockholm Bloodbath. Slagheck was the illegitimate son of a We ...

, marched from Västerås to Dalälven, making camp near the Brunnbäck ferry. Shortly afterwards rebel troops under

Peder Svensson Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek , ''Petros'' (an invented, masculine form of Greek ''petra,'' the word for "rock" or "stone"), which itself was a translation of Aramaic ''Kefa'' ("stone, rock"), the new na ...

arrived on the opposite side of the river. The rebels engaged the Danish soldiers by archery, causing many casualties and forcing the enemy to retreat. By then, Peder Svensson had already taken part of his force, and out of sight moved it over the river. When the Danes left their camp he attacked, while the remaining rebels moved over the river. The battle took place on an open area called Sonnbohed. The governmental troops resisted, but the attack was both surprising and fierce. Those who were not cut down fled either by throwing themselves into the river or on the main road, the latter being chased far into

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...

. The battle ended as a major Swedish victory. File:Brunnbäcksstenen.jpg, Memorial of the battle, in Brunnbäck. File:Peder Svensson-stenen.jpg, Memorial of

, in

Hedemora Hedemora is a town in Dalarna County and the seat of Hedemora Municipality, Sweden, with 7,273 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Hedemora is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city'', and as such the oldest ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Brunnback Ferry 1521 in Europe Brunnback Ferry Brunnback Ferry Brunnback Ferry 16th century in Denmark 1521 in Sweden 1521 in Denmark Brunnback Ferry